Between the rains

Five days of rain, today and tomorrow dry, then rain again on Tuesday and Wednesday. Unlike last spring, when a drought took hold of central Poland. To Jakubowizna, then, to see how it's looking.

Below: wide-angle view towards Chynów station from Widok. Orchards under water, the road to the station under water.

Below: telephoto view towards Chynów station showing the drainage ditch between the road in the above pic and the railway line. Water flows down from the adjacent fields and into the ditch, then south along the ditch towards Widok. Note the grass further along - without grass roots to anchor the soil, it will merely be washed down into the ditch, soon clogging it up. One way or another, keeping the drainage ditches flowing freely will be full-time work for railway infrastructure operator, PKP PLK S.A.; there is a danger of rainwaters washing away the track's underpinnings.

Below: more wet orchards, this time nearer my działka. The water table, sitting on a bed of impermeable clay, reaches the surface in many lower-lying places.

Below: this dog has decided that it will sit in the middle of the road. Several cars had to make their way around it before it finally decided to go back into its yard. Visual reminder of why one must drive slowly through villages.

Below: view from the street outside my działka looking towards southern Jakubowizna. The road running through is less than 300m away from where I'm standing.

Below: view from that road looking towards my dzialka. The two parallel roads are separated by 300m of fallow land, with a chain-link fence at the southern end, preventing pedestrians from walking through. The alternative is to walk 1.3km past the railway station, or 3.0km the other way, through the wood. The land stands idle; it could at least be used as a path linking the two parts of the village.

Left: having already walked the 1.3km way heading out, I choose the 3.0km detour on the way back. The sandy track that is the road from Machcin II to Jakubowizna is relatively dry as the wood through which it runs is some situated some 12m higher than the railway line.

Below: a taster of yesterday - the fields between the S7 extension and Dawidy Bankowe. I went out for a walk shortly after the funeral of Prince Philip and two-thirds of the way round I was caught out by an intense rainstorm, drenching me to the skin. The dark clouds are behind me; the heavens will open in about ten minutes' time. The fields, sodden by five days of heavy rain, are about to get wetter still.

Update, Monday 19 April 2021. Though today, as forecast, is sunny and dry, Warsaw was visited by an almighty, though localised rainstorm. Rolling thunder and intense rain drumming on the roof merged into one low, loud rumble, so I couldn't pick out the noise of one from the other. I have never experienced this in my life. 

This time three years ago:

Towards a circular economy

This time four years ago:
Ralph Vaughan-Williams - two song cycles

This time 12 years ago:
Spring scenes in Jeziorki

This time 13 years ago:
Modernist wheels

This time 14 years ago:
Mammatus clouds over Jeziorki